My Inner World

Our Little Honey was born August 1st at 14.42 hrs. She is just perfect! The labour was very different from our first one, but it was wonderfull. (Once I was given the Entonox that is, not so much fun before that! )

I will do my very best to write a proper update/birth story soon. Untill then, let me introduce, our Little Honey:

Desired result of membrane sweep: The Onset of labour
Actual Result of the membrane sweep: 1 very sore and dissapointed Mieneke

40 weeks tomorrow..... Fingers crossed!

Had another check up today. The registrar was the same man that I had seen last week and that I hadn't really gelled well with. When the "Head Doctor" came in I was delighted to see her and she suggested a membrane sweep to see if that would help get things moving. I gladly accepted and then it turned out that HE would be doing the procedure. In hindsight I feel like I should have requested someone else. Not because he was male, but because I didn't feel comfortable with him.
My regular doctor has a very exotic name and is from Egypt, I believe. He then made a rather derogatory remark about Egyptians. Completely uncalled for!
Seeing as allot of his colleagues seem to be from the middle east/Africa (Just a guess, mind you. They wear headscarves and those beautifully coloured all covering tunics) and he himself seems African (or Carribean), I have to wonder how popular he is with his colleagues if he thinks remarks like that are funny...

When I asked about the level of discomfort this sweep would have, he said it was different for everyone but that he would be able to handle it if it were to be done to him. To which I asked him how many people HE had expelled from his body. Started off on the wrong foot there.
Now, I have had internal examinations before and this man had no sense of decorum at all.

The ladies that did it before, were all very respectful and talked me through it. This guy just said "now." and went for it. To say it was painfull and degrading would be an understatement. I felt like a flaming farm-animal.
He told me that if things had'nt started moving by next week's check up he would do it again.... Over my dead body... If I have him again, I will request one of the other doctors. If he doesn't like it, tough. It's my body and I decide who touches it.

On a more pleasant note. The Midwife that did the pre-check up pronounced my name perfectly when she called me. My name is very hard to pronounce so I was rather surprised. Turns out the lady lived in the Netherlands for 12 years and we were able to converse in Dutch. My first pregnancy hospital visit where I could speak in my native tongue. Was a very pleasant thing to be able to do. Hopefully she will be on duty in the delivery ward when I go in!

Right, I will be sure to let ye know if the sweep worked! (Fingers and toes crossed!)

For a few weeks now, I have been getting these shooting, debilitating pains down my spine. They run from the base of my skull down to my tailbone and all I can do is sit completely still and wait for them to pass.
This morning, I sneezed.... My spine seized up and now I am walking like a 95 year old lady carrying 3 bags of heavy shopping in each hand!

But the Munchkin requested a "Jammie Day" during the week and thankfully I had agreed that that could be today. This means we stay in our pyjama's all day long. We have an extra treat in the afternoon ( I am thinking Ice-pop today) while we paint/do Playdoh and she gets to choose what we have for dinner today. (Chicken in the Pot). I will not have to drive anywhere, lift anyone up the climbing frame or carry a shopping basket through a crowded shop whilst trying to remember what the heck it was I went in there for in the first place anyway!
God Bless Jammy Day.

Right, as we..ehm.. type, I am 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant. But who's counting? Well, that would be ME!
This pregnancy has proven allot more demanding both physically and emotionally than my first one and as far as I am concerned this is definitly our last one.
I have something called SPD and boy is it no fun at all.
I have so much respect for women who happily go through several pregnancies even with the most severe of discomfort but I'm sorry to say. I am not one of them. I keep telling myself that it couldn't be for a better cause and that it's not going to last forever. But the thing that keeps me the most sane is that after this, I won't have to do this ever again!
Even with the moodswings ("Poor Paddy" is all I can say), the pain and fatigue though, I still feel enormously blessed to be allowed to experience pregnancy and that everything is going so well with this baby. I WANT this baby, I have wanted it for a long time and I can't wait to meet it. I can't wait to hold my baby, to feel it in my arms, to smell it's head and to hear it's first cries. I would rather have it be sooner than later! ;)

We (and by "we" I mean Paddy, as I physically can't do much at all!) are in the midst of last minute baby preparations. I just made up the Moses basket and we have all the clothes washed and put in the drawers. My hospital and labour bags are packed and are in the hall awaiting our departure for the hospital.

Munchkin is very excited about becoming a big sister and sings "Twinkle Twinkle, little star" to the baby frequently.
For some reason, she keeps thinking the baby is in my bossom rather than my tummy. I have had some strange looks when she strokes my breast saying "I love our Baby Mamma!" and puts her cheek against it!
Bless her, we have tried to explain it to her several times but the idea won't budge! I would love to know where the idea came from. Now, I am fairly large up top, so maybe she thinks the baby would have more space up there? :-)

Ok, this is about as much "behind the computer time" as my back can handle at the moment. Going to put my footsies up with a nice cold drink and read a few more pages of the new Harry Potter before going back to the baby preps.

Love and light,

Mieneke

Munchkin and I were playing "I spy"

I said I spied something Yellow.

Munchkin's first guess: "Your teeth?"

Ehhm, Thanks Honey!

Yesterday afternoon, we received an e-mail to all be present in the largest meeting room at 16:00 hrs. They were shutting down the lines to facilitate this meeting... This set off my alarmbells straight away. The lines are holy, Service Level does not get compromised unless it's something BIG.

And, it was.

We all gathered there to see the general manager walk in with a very solemn face. He proceeded to read from an earlier prepared statement.
I work for an outsourcing company and we take care of the customer service for a VERY large software company. (Yes, that one) and this company decided to pull their business and give it to another company with a larger presence globally.

This means that as per the end of June, Mieneke is out of a job.
This is two weeks before my maternity leave is to start. Going job-hunting when you are very much pregnant? Somehow I don't see myself being all that successfull. Finding a part-time job that pays as well as this one did after my maternity leave? Snowball's chance in Hell.

Most of the people in my job are only in Ireland for a year or two anyway. They don't have families here and can pretty much do what they want in regards to finding a job. As my sanity was starting to cave, the faces around me were not too worried. The average age is about 22.... they all went to the pub afterwards to have a "redundancy piss up" (Only in Ireland.)

One very sweet colleague, who knows about the baby was very concerned and even offered to drive me home. I got the feeling that the rest of them thought I was overreacting. Yeah, 4 months pregnant, a three year old at home and just lost a job of 5.5 years that provided a steady income.... Overreacting is right...

On top of that, there was talk of Paddy's job cutting over 70 jobs, too. Can you imagine what it would have been like if that had happened? And it's still not certain that it won't.

Stress and pregnancy do not go well together, so I am forcing myself to chill. Things will go as they are meant to. The Universe decides...

I know that everything happens for a reason, but at the moment I am having a very hard time thinking of what the reason for this could be. It will all reveal it's self though....

There is a show called "Father Ted". It's of a certain comedic calliber that is very much appreciated by Paddy's bunch of mates. (Including his brother) and they tend to refer to each other as "Ted". "Ted, going for a smoke?"
"Going for a pint tonight, Ted?"
Then I got pregnant on the Munchkin and somewhere in the proceedings, the baby started to be called: "Little Ted". And it stuck!
Although I am not so sure whether I like my babies being referred to in a context of a show that has "Drrrrrrrrrink, arse Feck!" as a key frase, but some things are just the way they are!


For those not familiar with Father Ted:



It's worth having a look at the other Father Ted clips on You Tube, too!

Right, as the title says: She's back. Ish.

As per my previous update, the first trimester hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea how lucky I was with Munchkin's pregnancy until I became pregnant again! After a days work (where many blogs are blocked) there was no way I was going to log on when I could be hitting the hay! Going to bed at 20.30 - 21.00 hrs is not unusual anymore!
Then, when my body decided to cut me some slack, my very close friend came to the realization that her marriage is beyond salvation. Her husband is having a very hard time accepting this and has made life extremely difficult for her. She has even come to Ireland for a few days to get away from the toxic situation at home. So, I have been trying to help her through this nasty situation as best I can. I am very saddened by the fact that he seems to have decided that his hurt feelings go above what's good for their three children.... (Namely a pleasant home-life.)
But all I can do from here is support her and the children by listening and sharing my thoughts on the subject...

On a lighter, happier note. Paddy and I went for our first scan yesterday! I was very nervous as there is no guarantee that the lady will say all is well. But, thankfully, it is. The baby was having a blast in there, somersaults gallore and waving his arms and legs like a good thing! :-)))
The heart was beating strongly which was an amazing thing to see. The lady did some meassurements and it would seem I am 5 days more pregnant than I first thought. It doesn't make any sense if you go by my average cycle but I am guessing the scan wouldn't lie! So, the new due date is July 31. This happens to be a date that I have not been able to get out of my head for weeks! Now we know why! Also, I was thinking "Girl" all allong, but when I saw the little one on the scan I thought "Boy". So now, I genuinely have no clue anymore! ;-)

One thing that could possibly present a problem though, is that the placenta seems to be at the front, rather than at the back. This does not have to be a bad thing, unless the placenta starts to cover the cervix opening. In which case it will require a planned c-section. To determine this, we will be going in for another scan at 34 weeks.
I am not worried though, even if it does turn out to be the case, and I do need a c-section. It will not be the worst thing in the world. As long as the baby is healthy, I will do whatever is needed to keep it that way. There's people that have to endure a lot worse. My preference would ofcourse be a natural birth, but if that's not on the cards, so be it

So, without further ado, I present to you: Ted 2 (Naming to be explained later)

The head is to the right, then the pretty round tummy, the white stripe is the bone of the upper leg and then the rest of the leg.

This pregnancy is the exact opposite of my first one. With Munchkin, I did not get morning sickness. My skin stopped all it's pesky extreme dry-ness issues and I was really LOVING pregnancy. Now, I have to do deep breathing excercises whilst typing, lest I have to dash for the toilet. My skin feels like it's being slowly teared apart and I can't wait for the pregnancy to be over already and for me to hold my happy, healthy baby in my arms.
I am SO tired all day long that I have requested an extra week holiday because the idea of going back to the office makes me want to weep. Had I mentioned my hyper-emotional state?
I have had to psych myself up to write this entry, what I really want to be doing is lie down on the sofa and kindly request the room to stop spinning already!
The Glucose thing was borderline they said, 6. something. My cholesterol was waaaaaay low. I have to go in for a chat with her though, as this extreme reaction to sugar thing is freaking me the heck out!

Thanks a million for checking in folks, the concern is much appreciated!

I will try and drop by on your respective blogs, as I am dying to read what you all are up to. Just bear with me, the first trimester can't last forever!

Love and light and wishing your wonderful holidays!